Cell phones welcome in some classrooms

By Olga Kharif

updated 9:15 a.m. ET Sept. 5, 2008

Cell phones have long been anathema in the classroom, banned as a potential distraction, at best, and as a possible vehicle for cheating, at worst. But lately, educators have begun changing their tune on mobile phones.

Abilene Christian University will hand out Apple's iPhone 3G smartphone to two-thirds of this year's entering class of 950 freshmen. Students will be expected to use the devices to brainstorm ideas and get virtual handouts and podcasts during class. Instructors will use them for such tasks as monitoring attendance.

"This is a new platform for learning, in the same way a laptop or a desktop was a new platform," says William Rankin, co-director of mobile learning research at the school in Abilene, Texas.

Other schools across the country, from Michigan to Maryland and Texas to North Carolina, are coming to the same conclusion — that advanced wireless devices can be used as much for learning as for entertainment.

According to a survey of 700 teens published in April by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 71 percent of respondents already own cell phones, while only 59 percent own computers. Cell-phone ownership among college kids is even higher.

The new bookbag
So-called smartphones — such as the iPhone, which in the U.S. is authorized to run on the AT&T network — offer myriad new capabilities, including Web access, e-mail, and access to educational software.

"The time is approaching when these little devices will be as much a part of education as a bookbag," wrote the authors of a report last year by the nonprofit New Media Consortium, which studies emerging technologies likely to have an impact on teaching.

A well-equipped cell phone with a foldout keyboard could even supplant a laptop in classrooms, says Bill Davidson, senior vice-president for global marketing at Qualcomm, which makes cell-phone software and chips.

"From a cost standpoint, they cost much less," he points out. Davidson represents one of the largest makers of mobile-phone equipment, so his bias is obvious. But his view is shared in academic circles.

Phones may be better at facilitating teacher-student interaction, says ACU's Rankin. Abilene Christian experimented with laptops in class, but "we weren't pleased with what it did for us," Rankin says. "The screens created a barrier between teacher and students."

Widespread adoption by universities would be a welcome boost to sales for Qualcomm, such carriers as AT&T and Verizon Wireless, and hardware makers, such as Hewlett-Packard and Apple.

Smartphones such as Research In Motion's BlackBerry have long been popular among business users. They've gained more widespread appeal in recent years, thanks to technological advances and, to some degree, the popularity of the iPhone.

Colleges "are expecting a very high pickup of the iPhone on their campuses," says Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice-president for global marketing of the iPhone. The company and AT&T send sales reps and provide technical assistance to schools looking to use the iPhone. Some analysts believe Apple will start selling the gadget right on college campuses before long.